Air conditioner



May 10, 1938, c, E, w 2,116,839

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 21, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l E rnegs y 1938- c. E. LEWIS -2,116,839

AIR CONDITIONER Fil d Jan 21, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Inv'eniar ,wuwgztw' Patented May 10, 1938 UNITE STATES PATENT oFI- cE Lewis Air Conditioners, Inc,

Minneapolis,

Minn, a corporation of Delaware Application January 21, 1931, Serial No. 510,105

Claims.

My present invention relates to air conditioning apparatus and is an improvement on my invention disclosed in U. '8. Letters Patent No. 1,781,515 issued November 11th, 1930. My original invention has gone into extensive commercial use and in such has been found satisfactory for all purposes intended. In the original structure, however, the full efficiency of the radiator or heat exchanger was not utilized either for raising the evaporative capacity of the air or for heating and evaporating the water or humidifying medium. .The radiator was positioned at the air intake of the evaporating flue and consequently effected no direct or transmissive application of heat upon 15 the films of water and considerable heat was dissipated by the drainage of heated water at the air intake 'end of the evaporating flue, espemotion and cleanliness; and wherein the circulated air is subjected to three successive stages of humidiflcation without requiring the addition of parts or mechanisms to the elements utilized in my original structure.

It is a further object to provide improved and highly efficient air conditioning apparatus wherein the moisture added to the moving column of air is progressively increased'as the evaporative capacity of the air is raised and wherein a direct or transmissive application of heat upon both the humidifying medium and the air is efl'ected.

A more specific object is to provide an *improvement on my above identified original struc- -ii). ture wherein a radiator core or heating unit is utilized not only to heat the air and raise the evaporative capacity thereof, but moreover to divide and transmissively heat the water or humidifying medium and to further distribute heated water upon spaced and inclined evaporating' plates disposed therebelow.

Still another object is the provision of a compact air conditioning unit which is especially well suited both for humidlfying and heating air, and for cooling and de-humidifying air. w

Another object is to provide air conditioning apparatus of the class described which is particulariy responsive to controls and regulators for maintaining within a room or other enclosure a desired temperature and relative humidity of the air and further adapted to thoroughly cleanse the air and remove therefrom odors, germs and foreign material.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following 5 description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which: f

Fig. l isa front view of an embodiment of my invention taken partly in front elevation and partly in vertical section, a substantial portion of the front wall of theflue being broken away to show the mechanism mounted therein;

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an electrical diagram illustrating schematically the electrical control circuits for the fan motor and solenoid valve.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated my apparatus with the exception of the humidity controlling device is housed within an ornamental rectangular casing 0 having front, rear and side walls and an open top and bottom, and a cover l is preferably hinged to the rear edge of the open top of the casing. Casing C is supported in spaced relation to the floor by means of suitable legs L, said legs also serving to support a relatively heavy open rectangular frame 5 upon which most of the essential elements and mechanisms of my apparatus are mounted. I

An elongated substantially vertical flue 1' which may conveniently be of rectangular cross sectional shape is mounted within casing C and supported from frame 5 and extends upwardly from the bottom to substantially the top of the casing and disposed at one side of the center line thereof. An emclent type of radiator is mounted medially and horizontally within flue F, the core of said radiator traversing the entire cross sectional area of the flue. My radiator preferably comprises a pair of headers i and l which are disposed exteriorly of flue F and at opposite sides thereof. Said headers are connected by a series of horizontal'tubes l traversing the flue and a series of closely spaced vertical flns 9 are mounted upon and surround said tubes dividing the space between said tubes into a series of narrow vertical Passages. r v

The lower portion of flue F below the radiator is slightly enlarged in cross sectional area and constitutes a substantially cubical evaporating chamber II in which a-series of inclined, concentrically arranged, arcuate, evaporating plates II are mounted, the upper edges of said plates being disposed in substantially a horizontal plane extending below said radiator, while the lower edges of said plates are disposed in substantially a vertical plane extending parallel with the inner vertical end of evaporating chamber iii. The construction of my evaporating plates ii may be similar to the plates disclosed-in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,781,515 issued November 11th, 1930, entitled "Humidifier and heater, said plates having a series of transverse corrugations defining ornate grooves and ridges on the concave surfaces of the plates whereby water will successively lodge in the grooves and be distributed over the plates in the form of thin films. A suitable fan casing i 2 is provided in the inner vertical wall of chamber in communicating with said chamber and the interior of flue F and an efiicient fan i3 is mounted in said casing, preferably fixed to the armature shaft M of a motor M. The base of motor.M may be suitably mounted across the front and rear sides of rectangular frame 5. The portion of flue F. directly above the radiator defines a second evaporating and air washing chamber i5 across which a horizontal water conduit I6 is mounted, preferably supported from opposite sides of flue F and having connected therewith one or more (as shown, 'l)v spray nozrods zles I'I. Spray nozzles ll are directed longitudinally of fiue F towards the radiator and may be of any suitable construction adapted to discharge a finely divided or atomized conical spray of moisture. The form of nozzle illustrated in my copending application for U. S. Letters Patent entitled Nozzle-self-cleaning", S. N. 460,476, filed June 13th, 1930, has been found entirely satisfactory for the purposes intended. My said nozzles are utilized in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and have associated therewith the upwardly projecting control rods Ila by which the bodies or cores'of the nozzles may be moved and flushed.

Directly above the evaporating and air washing chamber i5, within'fiue, F a moisture eliminating unit it is provided comprising a series of tortuously shaped or zigzag plates. The upper end of fiue F is angled towards the center of casing C and has an air discharge passage M which may be covered with a reticulated door or grill 2!! set in the front wall of the casing. Nozzle cleaning [la preferably extend through the water eliminating unit and are accessible from the top of the flue which is preferably hinged to or removable from the body thereof.

Header 8 is'conneeted by conduits 2i and 22 with the lead conduit of a hot fluid heating system, which may be steam, hot water or vapor. A thermostatically operated circuit control unit U is associated with the hot fluid intake to the radiator and as shown includes a thermostatic ele- 1 ment 23 of the immersion type which may be fit- 'ted into a T-coupling 22a connected with conduits II and 22. Header l of the radiator is connected by a return conduit 28 with the return conduitof the hot fluid heating system.

A conventional solenoid valve S is provided for controlling the supply, of water or humidifying medium .to the discharge nozzles i'l. Water'is supplied through the supply conduit 26 which may have interposed therein a hand valve 25 by which the water supply may be shut off or the volume of water regulated. At the outlet side of solenoid valve S a suitable filter (see Fig. 2) is provided.

An outlet or terminal box 0 is mounted adjacent the circuit control unit U into which the service wires and conductors for the fan motor. the solenoid valve and the control unit extend. A suitable humidostat or humidity regulator H is mounted at a convenient location in the room or building served by my device and is connected in an electrical circuit with the temperature circuit control U, as will hereafter be explained in detail. Y

The electrical circuits for controlling the supply of water or humidifying medium and for controlling the'operation of the fan motor are schematically shown in Fig. 3. The switches of the control units U and H are illustrated as of the mercury tube type although any suitable switch mechanisms may be utilized in association with the elements of said controls. The line conductors a and b, as will be seen, are connected with the controls U and H and with. motor M and solenoid valve S in such manner that neither the motor circuit nor the solenoid valve circuit can be closed unless the switch of the temperature control unit is closed. In the circuit diagram it will be seen that the line conductor a is connected with one terminal of the switch in unit U,

' while the second terminal of-said switch is connected in multiple with the switch of the humidity control and with one terminal in motor M. The other terminal of motor M is connected with line conductor b, while the second terminal of the switch of the humidity control is .connected with one end of the coil of solenoid valve S, while the opposite. end of said coil is connected with the line conductor b. The thermostatic element of temperature control U is so adjusted that the switch of unit U will not be closed until the temperature of the fiuid supplied to the radiator has arisen to a point adequate for effectively heating the moisture discharged by the nozzles IT as well as raising the evaporativecapacity of the air to a requisite value.

In operation finely divided sprays of moisture will be discharged by nozzles ll against the top of the radiator. the particles of moisture being subdivided as they strike the tubes 8 and fins 9 of the radiator unit, the moisture passes downwardly through the narrow vertical air passages defined by fins 9 and in so doing is heated and a substantial portion evaporated by the transmissive or direct heating effect of the radiator tubes and fins. The greatest evaporation of moisture takes place at this point and little obstruction to the upward flow of air will be effected, since finely divided particles of moisture adhere closely to the fins forming thin films which pass downwardly. The unevaporated moisture is uniformly distributed to the upper ends of the several evaporating plates Hand is delivered to said plates at a relatively-high temperature. This moisture successively collects and overflows the grooves'in the corrugated concave surfaces of the plates spreading out and moving downwardly over the said plates in the form of thin films. The

surplus water and moisture drops from the lower its upward passage due to the increase in tam-'75 perature of the water passing over the evaporat ing plates from the lower to the upper ends thereof. A considerable evaporation of moisture takes place in the evaporating chamber II and the air then passes upwardly between the fins 9 and tubes 8 of the radiator core, being rapidly raised in temperature by the direct application of heat and consequently attaining a considerably higher evaporative capacity. The thin films of moisture passing downwardly over the flns 8 present no heavy body of water for the air to pass through and do not materially restrict the upward circulation of the air. After passage through the radiator core the warm and moistened air passes through the fine mist created by the nozzles H in the evaporating and air washing chamber l and is thoroughly washed and rid of odors and dust particles. The air then passes through the moisture eliminator l8 where an unevaporated particles of moisture are removed and the warmed and moist air is discharged into the room'or other enclosure served by my device through the grill 20 mounted in the front side of the casing C.

Assuming the temperature of the circulating, heating medium to be adequate the switch and temperature control unit U will remain closed and the fan will operate. When the moisture in the room exceeds a predetermined degree the humidity control will function to open the circuit through solenoid valve S and the supply of moisture will be shut off.

If the temperature of the circulating heating fluid is inadequate for evaporating the moisture and for raising the evaporative capacity of the air, the switch of. temperature controlling unit U will be opened and will operate as a master switch. for the motor and solenoid valve circuits until the temperature of the fluid going through the radiator core has attained a predetermined value. i

From the foregoing description it will be seen that three stages of evaporation or humidiflca-- tion are provided by my apparatus and that further the temperature of the water and moisture as well as the evaporative capacity of air is progressively increased fromthe lower end of the flue upwardly and through the radiator core. It will also be noticed that as the evaporative capacity of the air is progressively increased larger amounts of moisture are added or subjected to the upwardly moving column of air.

It will, of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangement of the parts, without departing from the scope of my invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

, What is claimed is:--

1. In air conditioning apparatus,- an upwardly extending flue having an air intake passage adjacent its lower end and an air discharge passage adjacent its upper end, a radiator disposed interinediately of said passages and having a heating core transversing the cross sectional area of said flue and defining a multiplicity of narrow passages which extend longitudinally of said flue, means above said core for discharging and distributing finely divided particles -of moisture downwardly through said passages, means for causing air to move upwardly through said passages and means below said radiator for dividing said moving air into thin streams directed upwardly through said passages.

flue below said radiator with their upper edges disposed for receiving moisture dripping fromsaid radiator passages and a fan for causing an upward movement of air through said flue.

3. In air conditioning apparatus, an upwardly extending flue having a lateral air intake passage adjacent its lower end and a discharge passage adjacent its upper end, a fan mounted in said intake passage for projecting air upwardly through said flue, a radiator disposed medially of said flue and having a core traversing the cross sectional area of said flue, a series of spaced inclined evaporating plates extending from said air intake passage to points adjacent the bottom of said radiator and means for discharging and distributing moisture upon the top of said radiator core.

4. In air conditioning apparatus, an upwardly extending flue having a lateral air intake pas? sage adjacent its lower end and an air discharge passage adjacent its upper end, means for projecting air upwardly through said flue, a radiator disposed medially of said flue and having a core traversing the cross sectional area of the flue, a series of spaced inclined evaporating plates extending from said air intake passage to points adjacent the bottom of said radiator, means for discharging and distributing moisture upon the top of said radiator core, said core having a series .of narrow vertical passages extending parallel with the upper edges of said spaced plates to distribute moisture thereon.

5. In air conditioning apparatus, an upwardly extending flue having a lateral air intake pas-- sage adjacent its lower end and an air discharge passage adjacent itsiiipper end, a radiator disspray of moisture downwardly toward the top of the radiator core and substantially filling the cross sectional area of the flue.

' CARROLL E. LEWIS. 

